Heather in VA Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I'm considering this for my 12 year old but I'm concerned about the whole 'dress-up' thing. Do you find that your student ended up just throwing in a bunch of adverbs and adjectives to make it sound fancy? How did the lessons transfer to essays and other expository writing when the topic isn't so much of a story as younger writing is? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparrowsNest Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I have had my two boys (5th & 8th) working on the SWI level B. (We're doing it as afterschooling, so we're moving at a relaxed pace.) I have explained to them that practicing these techniques in a formal way (i.e., including one strong verb, one strong adjective, and whatever else is on the checklist) are ways of working their writing muscles. Right now, they need to practice using these techniques; when they mature as writers, they will be able to pick and choose from among them to suit their purposes then. Since my boys had had no writing training, my purpose was to get them writing confidently. SWI has worked on that level. This summer we will move into focusing on academic essay writing with The Elegant Essay from IEW and Michael Clay Thomas' Essay Voyage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 Thanks, are there assignments in the Intensive or did you download the lessons I saw on their website. I'm having a tough time figuring out exactly how it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparrowsNest Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 What I bought was the SWI-B with DVDs. The way it works is basically... Mr. Pudewa introduces a topic, and the children work along with him. He then gives them a writing assignment. They use the notes they have made and incorporate the required "dress-ups" or stylistic techniques they have covered, either rewriting the source text in their own words or doing an 'inspired-by' type rewrite. The parent manual gives additional source texts if you want to repeat the exercise. The exercises increase in difficulty and complexity, i.e., the first writing exercise is fairly simple, but they build on from there. Does that help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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